Dr. James Sutton

A graduate of Central Catholic High School, where he finished third in the backstroke at the National High School Swimming Championships (1948) and was state runner-up in the P.C.I.A.A. pole vault (1949). He went on to Mercersburg Academy and Syracuse University. While a student at Mercersburg, he was a member of the number one 440-yard relay team in the nation (1950). He was a member of the national championship cross country team at Syracuse (1952) and had a best 9.8 seconds in the 100-yard dash at both Syracuse and Mercersburg. Jim competed on many victorious mile relay teams while at Syracuse University. He is one of the top Masters runners in the United States and presently holds the national record for the 1,500-meter outdoor run (4:21) and the outdoor (4:38) and indoor (4:48) mile runs. He set the world record in the 1,500-meter indoor run (4:30) at the Pennsylvania State Championships. Sutton coached cross-country and track teams at Exeter High School that were dominant in Berks County during the 1960s, winning five county titles, six District III titles, and three state championships in cross-country. He later earned his Doctorate degree in Educational Administration and was a principal at Wilson Central Junior High School in West Lawn, PA.